Firkin

ABSTRACT

A paper pouch that holds sugar pouches to a side wall of a disposable beverage or food container, namely but not limited to, a conventional paper coffee cup, when it is attached to said container by way of a peel-and-stick action. The pouch has flexible front and rear walls attached together, along opposite vertical edges defining and supporting an open top. Respective bottom edges of the front and rear walls are connected by a medial strip extending from a medial portion of a bottom edge of the front wall across that extends to the rear wall. The opposite side of the medial strip contains a pressure sensitive adhesive to affix the pouch to a disposable beverage or food container. When the paper pouch is filled with condiments, the front and rear walls of the pouch bow apart so that the lateral sides lift away from the side of the disposable container so that food or drink that spills over the top of the container does not come into contact with the condiments, ie. coffee does not spill on and damage the sugar packages.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention is a condiment pouch that is able to be attached todisposable beverage cups and food containers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is to provide a place to temporarily store condiments onthe side of individual disposable beverage cups and/or food containersfor transport by the final customer from the point of sale to the pointof consumption.

The invention attaches to exterior wall of temporary food storagecontainers such as, but not limited to, paper cups, paper food serviceboxes, Styrofoam cups, cardboard sleeves for hot beverage containers.The invention is not intended to come into contact with either food orbeverage that is to be consumed by the final customer.

The invention is to provide temporary storage for condiments such as,but not limited to, packages of sugar, salt, pepper, ketchup, mustard,soy sauce, etc.

Before it is used, the invention will be stored in a continuous rolledstrip of the invention, for it to be peeled from the strip and placed ondisposable beverage or food container. Alternately, the invention can bestored individually with a wax paper covering the pressure sensitiveadhesive. Before invention can be affixed to the disposable foodcontainer, said wax paper must be manually removed to expose thepressure sensitive adhesive.

The invention is attached to the external wall of the disposablecontainer by simple finger pressure and held into place by a layer ofpressure sensitive adhesive.

The invention can be loaded with condiments either before or after ithas been attached to the disposable container.

The outwardly facing side of invention can be printed with various logosor advertisements and can be torn off from the remainder of the pouchand retained by the final customer without adversely effecting thebeverage or food container.

Any beverage or food that spills on the invention will drain through thebottom of the invention thus minimizing any damage to the packages ofcondiments.

It is intended that the invention will reduce waste in the followingways:

-   -   Eliminating the need for a bag to carry a single disposable food        container and its condiments, ie. cup of coffee and packages of        sugar or a single container of Chinese food and packages of soy        sauce.    -   Eliminating the need for the final consumer to take or request        additional condiments to compensate for the damage the        condiments may sustain while in a take away bag.

DRAWING DESCRIPTION: BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a close up illustration of the present invention fullyassembled.

FIG. 2 illustrates the present invention unassembled.

FIG. 3 offers an alternate illustration of the present invention fullyassembled, loaded with sugar packages, and affixed to the wall of anuncovered disposable beverage container.

FIG. 4 offers an alternate illustration of the present invention thatlooks down onto the present invention, fully assembled, loaded withsugar packages, and affixed to the side of a covered disposable beveragecontainer.

DESCRIPTION

As indicated in FIG. 1, the first embodiment of condiment pouch #1comprises a flexible front wall, #2 and a flexible rear wall, #3attached together in face-to-face relation along opposite lateral(vertical) edges fold portions #4, #5 to provide an open top #6. Thefront wall #2 is formed by a panel of #7 of single thickness and amajority of the rear wall #3 is of double thickness being formed by twoflap portions #9 and #10 bent rearwardly over each other from the frontpanel about the respective folds #4 and #5 and secured by adhesive inoverlapping relation. The front wall #2 and the rear wall #3 are bridgedby a medial strap portion #12 which extend in slack condition across anopen bottom edge of the front panel #7 and up a medial portion of theouter surface of the rearmost flap portion #9, to which one face of thestrap portion #12 is attached by adhesive. The other, opposite face #15of the strap is coated with a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive.

A front panel #7 can be printed with advertisements or logos and isbounded by two vertical lines of perforations forming lines of weaknessthus permitting the advertising message/logo to be torn away from thepouch and the cup to be retained by the final consumer.

As indicated in FIG. 1, such pouches are supplied located seriatum bythe pressure sensitive adhesive on a rolled carrier strip #16 whichforms an adhesive protecting release layer.

In use, after purchasing a cup of coffee at a take out counter, forexample, the customer peels an individual pouch from a reeled strip ofpouches provided at a condiment station exposing the pressure sensitiveadhesive, stuffs the pouch with a number of sugar packets #17(approximately four) and simply presses the stuffed pouch against thecup wall #18 of a conical paper cup #19. The front and rear walls of thepouch are bowed apart by accommodating the sugar packages such that onlythe adhesive covered strap actually engages the cup wall, the remainderof the rear wall of the pouch actually bowing away from the wall asshown in FIG. 4 so that coffee which leaks through the vent in the cuplid or between the lid and the tip lip of the cup vent and runs down thecup side wall usually does not contact and wet either the rear wall ofthe pouch or the sugar packets, preserving the sugar in free flowingcondition. It should also be noted that three layers of paper stockseparate the closest of the sugar packets from the cup wall so that evenif liquid running down the cup directly onto the strap portion adheredto the cup wall is unlikely to contact the sugar packages.

The pouch is stamped and formed from the once piece blank showed in FIG.2 in which precursors of the pouch structure are indicated by primedreference numerals.

Any spilled beverage leaking into the pouch will not pool therein butdrain through the openings at the bottom on each side of the strap.

It will readily be appreciated that it is merely necessary to fold flaps#9 and #10 about fold lines #4 and #5 into overlapping position in whichthey are adhered together thereby defining a flat tube open at the topand bottom and bending the strap precursor 12′ upwards and adhering themajor part to the medial outer surface of flap portion #9 to form thebasic pouch structure.

Empty pouches may also be attached to empty cups which can still bestacked as a result of the conical shape of the cup and low profiles ofthe empty pouches which will lie flat against the cup side wall, wellwithin the profiles of the rims.

The pouch dimensions shown are suitable for use with a conventionaldisposable paper cup.

In another embodiment, front and rear walls are attached together alongopposite lateral edges by expansion gussets and top closure flap isprovided on the pouch for increased protection.

1. A condiment pouch for attaching items such as individually packagedsugar packages to a side wall of a disposable beverage or foodcontainer, namely a conical beverage cup, by a peel and stick actioncomprises: A) A flexible front wall and a flexible rear wall attachedtogether in face-to-face relation along opposite lateral edges to defineand open top; B) A layer of pressure sensitive adhesive on the rearwall; C) A protective release layer covering the adhesive; D) Aremovable protective layer that covers the adhesive; E) The inventioncan be printed with logos or advertisements; F) And, the outwardlyfacing wall of the pouch can be removed and retained by the finalconsumer without impacting the structural integrity of the beverage orfood container.
 2. A condiment pouch described in claim 1 wherein thepressure sensitive adhesive is placed on only a medial portion of therear wall so that when the sugar packet stuffed pouch is adhered to theside wall of the cup, opposite lateral sides of the rear wall locatedbetween the pressure sensitive adhesive and the lateral edges are spacedapart from the cap sidewall.
 3. A condiment pouch described in claim 1wherein the front and rear walls are bowed apart by stuffing with theplurality of individual sugar packets and the pressure sensitiveadhesive is placed on only a medial portion of the rear wall so thatwhen the sugar packet stuffed pouch is adhered to the side wall of thecup, opposite lateral sides of the rear wall located between thepressure sensitive adhesive and the lateral edges are spaced apart fromthe cap sidewall.
 4. A condiment pouch described in claim 1 is stampedand formed from a one-piece black of single thickness paper stock andwherein respective bottom edges of the front wall and the rear wall arebridged by a medial strap which extends in slack condition across anopen bottom of the pouch from a medial portion to a bottom edge of thefront wall and up a medial portion of an outer surface of the rear wallto which on face of the strap is adhered, another face of the strapcarrying the pressure sensitive adhesive so that the strap separates therear wall from the cup side wall when adhered thereto.
 5. A condimentpouch according to claim 1 wherein the front wall has a portion forcarrying advertising indicia which portion is bounded by at least online of weakness to facilitate manual removal thereof for retention andreference by the final consumer.
 6. A condiment pouch according to claim2 wherein the front wall has a portion for carrying advertising indiciawhich portion is bounded by at least on line of weakness to facilitatemanual removal thereof for retention and reference by the finalconsumer.
 7. A condiment pouch according to claim 3 wherein the frontwall has a portion for carrying advertising indicia which portion isbounded by at least on line of weakness to facilitate manual removalthereof for retention and reference by the final consumer.